Another story from Sally Dervan.
As an ex pupil of Whalley Range High School ( I attended in the 1970s )
I was delighted to come across a collection of old school magazines from the late 1930s and early 1940s.
This interesting little bundle included a programme from the opening of the current school on Wilbraham Road in July 1939.
As I expected, they gave me a charming insight into school life.
I was interested to see the old school buildings on Withington Road and Burford Road Whalley
Range.
The school was founded in 1891 and came under the direction of Manchester Education
Committee in 1908.
The school building on Withington Road was called “Britannia” and the building
on Burford Road was “Alder House”.
The school had a third site on Upper Chorlton Road where “Crimsworth“ was used to teach children aged 6 to 11 years.
Crimsworth took boys as well as girls
but only the girls could remain with the school for their education after the age of 11.
Seeing the old school buildings is interesting, but there is one thing about the history of the school that shone like a diamond from the pages of the magazines.
The Headmistress at that time, Miss Christine Arscott really did love her job, her school, and its pupils with a passion.
Miss Arscott, born in Fulham on Christmas Day in 1887, had moved as a very young child to her mother’s birthplace of Manchester after the death of her father.
She became headmistress at Whalley Range in 1928.
As the editor of the school magazines, her contributions gave a great insight into her dedication as a teacher and her devotion to the school.
Moving all of the pupils aged over eleven into a new building on the eve of the Second World War sounds like a challenge.
They moved just in time. In the Christmas Blitz of 1940 their beloved former school building “Britannia” was almost completely destroyed.
The girls from Whalley Range were evacuated to the Rossendale Valley for a period of 4 months and were educated at Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School (Miss Arscott went too – and she comments that the slipper factories
were well worth a visit!)
Miss Arscott comments in the 1941 magazine that she was in constant fear for the safety of the new
school building on Wilbraham Road
“Every morning of the raid periods, as I reached Wilbraham Road on the 80 bus, I used to brace
myself for the possible sight of our new school in ruins, but it was spared serious damage and it is
now very much alive with around 500 girls”
The magazines I have are filled with stories by the pupils of the school. The young children at Crimsworth tell a story about sailing an imaginary boat on the Manchester Ship Canal. Miss Arscott was with them on this imaginary trip and told them all about warehouses and things they might expect to see if their journey was real.
A group of older girls, who had expressed an interest in nursing, tell us that Miss Arscott took them on a trip to Booth Hall Hospital so they could see for themselves what this career path might offer them
An inspirational teacher, steering the school through a period of war and upheaval
Miss Arscott never married and died in 1966 aged 78, she lived in Darley Avenue, Chorlton
© Sally Dervan
Pictures; from the collection of Sally Dervan
As an ex pupil of Whalley Range High School ( I attended in the 1970s )
This interesting little bundle included a programme from the opening of the current school on Wilbraham Road in July 1939.
As I expected, they gave me a charming insight into school life.
I was interested to see the old school buildings on Withington Road and Burford Road Whalley
Range.
The school was founded in 1891 and came under the direction of Manchester Education
Committee in 1908.
The school building on Withington Road was called “Britannia” and the building
on Burford Road was “Alder House”.
Crimsworth took boys as well as girls
but only the girls could remain with the school for their education after the age of 11.
Seeing the old school buildings is interesting, but there is one thing about the history of the school that shone like a diamond from the pages of the magazines.
The Headmistress at that time, Miss Christine Arscott really did love her job, her school, and its pupils with a passion.
She became headmistress at Whalley Range in 1928.
As the editor of the school magazines, her contributions gave a great insight into her dedication as a teacher and her devotion to the school.
Moving all of the pupils aged over eleven into a new building on the eve of the Second World War sounds like a challenge.
They moved just in time. In the Christmas Blitz of 1940 their beloved former school building “Britannia” was almost completely destroyed.
The girls from Whalley Range were evacuated to the Rossendale Valley for a period of 4 months and were educated at Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School (Miss Arscott went too – and she comments that the slipper factories
were well worth a visit!)
Miss Arscott comments in the 1941 magazine that she was in constant fear for the safety of the new
school building on Wilbraham Road
“Every morning of the raid periods, as I reached Wilbraham Road on the 80 bus, I used to brace
myself for the possible sight of our new school in ruins, but it was spared serious damage and it is
now very much alive with around 500 girls”
A group of older girls, who had expressed an interest in nursing, tell us that Miss Arscott took them on a trip to Booth Hall Hospital so they could see for themselves what this career path might offer them
An inspirational teacher, steering the school through a period of war and upheaval
Miss Arscott never married and died in 1966 aged 78, she lived in Darley Avenue, Chorlton
© Sally Dervan
Pictures; from the collection of Sally Dervan
I went to Whalley Range in1946 .The uniform was chocolate brown and cornflower blue.It was a bit of a shock entering this school after 6Years at primary school,but the education was first class
ReplyDeleteDesperately trying to find my school mate Lindsay Neff..1970s...
ReplyDeleteMrs Robinsons class and Mrs Bannisters.
Looking for Lindsay Neff...1970s
ReplyDeleteShe lived on Darley Ave.We both attended Whalley Range High School.